SONNET LXVII.
Like as a huntsman after weary chase,
Seeing the game from him escaped away:
sits down to rest him in some shady place,
with panting hounds beguilèd of their prey.
So after long pursuit and vain assay,
when I all weary had the chase forsook,
the gentle deer returned the self-same way,
thinking to quench her thirst at the next brook.
There she beholding me with milder look,
sought not to fly, but fearless still did bide:
till I in hand her yet half trembling took,
and with her own goodwill her firmly tied.
Strange thing me seemed to see a beast so wild,
so goodly won with her own will beguiled.
ANALYSIS:
Imitation of Petrarch’s Rima 190
- o Has a different ending, however
– Hunting metaphor = a common metaphor in the Elizabethan sonnet sequence, hunting = an active search for love
- o *should talk about what other writers experimented w/ the hunting metaphor
– Line 1 = “huntsman” = someone who’s been chasing after someone for a long, long time
- o “game” = what’s being hunted; so, “game” refers to the woman. “Escapt away” = the woman has gotten away from him
– Line 3: “sits downe to rest him in some shady place”
– “pray” = “prey” (right?)
- o “pantintg hounds” = out of breath, tired, have been tricked by those they’re hunting. Literally talking about his hunting dogs
– lines 5-6 = saying he’s given up
– line 7 = “deare” = double-meaning; this is very clever because he’s referring to the one of he loves and is chasing, but it goes with the hunting metaphor in b/c it’s a deer
- o After he’s given up, the deer comes back to him.
– line 11: “halfe trembling” = she’s trembling, as he takes her hand
– “fyrmely tyde” = ‘tied’, not ‘tide’
– This poem represents the turning point in the sonnet series. When he finally gives up and stops chasing after Elizabeth, she comes to him.
- o Also focuses on theme of power in relationships
- o Asserts that women do have the power in a successful relationship
– Also, Sonnet 67 is significant in that it deviates from the traditions of the Elizabethan sonnet sequences in that many focus on the frustrated feelings of unrequited love. This poems celebrates the happiness of love that is eventually being returned.
- o Do Shakespeare & Sidney follow the traditions?